WKSU Stories

Ohio Wine Producers Push for Resolution of China Trade Deal

Ideastream Public Media | By Nathan Reineck,

Published September 13, 2019 at 9:14 AM EDT

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Various bottles of red wine sit on a shelf in the wine section of 101 Bottles, a beer and wine store in Kent, Ohio on Thursday, Sep. 12, 2019.

The Ohio Wine Producers Association is hopeful a trade deal with China is reached before Ohio’s wines are pushed off store shelves. The head of the association, Doniella Winchell, said shelf space is already limited by the more than 300 wineries in Ohio.

“We’re about a six-billion-dollar industry in the state, so we’re very important and so our legislators pay attention to us. We just need to keep them apprised to the fact that this thing needs to be settled as soon as all of us can reach a compromise that benefits all the parties involved.”

Ohio wines could be pushed off the shelves by cheaper options from California and other northwestern states. Winchell said Ohio’s winemakers can’t keep up with the costs of production in those states.

Chris Laughton, 26, of Kent, Ohio stocks the chardonnay section at 101 Bottles, a beer and wine store in Kent. "Our whole job," Laughton said, "is playing Tetris with beer and wine fighting for very limited shelf space."